World City Guide

Hotels

Spanish VAT (IVA) is 7% and is added to all hotel bills. The prices quoted below are the lowest standard rates for a double room, excluding breakfast and excluding IVA, unless otherwise specified.

Business

Hotel Eurobuilding
Located in a modern high-rise building in the north of the city, the Eurobuilding is a large hotel with 469 rooms, catering specifically for business travellers. The comprehensive facilities include 20 conference rooms, a business centre and interpreting services, while individual rooms have Internet and fax-modem connection, satellite TV and video. The multilingual staff is both friendly and efficient. While the lobby area and lounges are spacious, airy and well suited to informal meetings, they are somewhat lacking in atmosphere (the piped music doesn’t help). The hotel is just a short walk from the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones on Paseo de la Castellana and a short drive to Juan Carlos I Trade Fair Centre and Barajas airport.

Calle Padre Damián 23
Tel: (91) 353 7300. Fax: (91) 345 4576.
E-mail: nheurobuilding@nh-hoteles.com
Website: www.nh-hoteles.com
Price: From ¬223.

Hotel Opera
A short walk from the Puerta del Sol and the shops of the Gran Via, this modern, medium-sized hotel with 79 rooms is situated just across the street from the Opera House, hence the name. The hotel is comfortable, with traditional, slightly old-fashioned furnishings. The business facilities include fax, interpreting and limousine services and conference rooms for small meetings. All rooms are equipped with video and satellite TV; some have balconies with views of old Madrid. The English-speaking staff is friendly and helpful, while in the café-restaurant evening meals are accompanied by live performances of classical and light opera.

Cuesta de Santo Domingo 2
Tel: (91) 541 2800. Fax: (91) 541 6923.
E-mail: reservas@hotelopera.com
Website: www.hotelopera.com
Price: From ¬69.

Hotel Santo Mauro
This small luxury hotel with 37 rooms, situated in a leafy corner of the historic Chamberí neighbourhood, is housed in a 19th-century palace that once served as an embassy. It was reconstructed in a tasteful combination of neo-classical and avant-garde styles in 1990. The lounges, ornamented with stucco mouldings, mirrors and fluted pilasters, evoke the refinement of a bygone age and are the perfect setting for entertaining clients. Other facilities include business services, six conference rooms (occupying the former ballrooms), interpreting services, multilingual staff and a fitness centre in which to unwind or re-energise after a taxing day of work. All guest rooms are individually designed and are equipped with satellite TV, video and 24-hour room service.

Calle Zurbano 36
Tel: (91) 319 6900. Fax: (91) 308 5477.
E-mail: santo-mauro@ac-hotels.com
Website: www.achotelsantomauro.com
Price: From ¬318.

Suecia
As the plaque outside the hotel explains, the Suecia’s claim to fame is that writer Ernest Hemingway stayed here during the 1950s, commending it for its proximity to the Prado and the Café del Bellas Artes on Calle Alcalá. The facilities, which include a café-restaurant (with afternoon tea served daily), meeting rooms and a secretarial and translation service, are good value for the price and location. Fitted out in Swedish style (Suecia is Spanish for Sweden) the 128 rooms, including nine ‘junior suites’, are cramped or cosy, depending on one’s point of view. To compensate, there is a seventh-floor terrace where guests can stretch their legs.

Calle Marqués de Casa Riera 4
Tel: (91) 531 6900. Fax: (91) 521 7141.
E-mail: bookings@hotelsuecia.com
Website: www.hotelsuecia.com
Price: From ¬172.

Luxury

Hotel Ritz
Designed along the lines of its Parisian counterpart by architect Francis Mewes, the Hotel Ritz opened in 1910, in the presence of King Alfonso XIII, who had previously bemoaned the paucity of luxury accommodation in the city. Located only a stone’s throw from major cultural attractions like the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museums, the Ritz also appeals to business travellers, because of its proximity to the Madrid Stock Exchange and the financial district. Rooms are individually designed, with embroidered linen sheets, hand-woven carpets and marble bathrooms. Facilities include fax, telephone, satellite TV and 24-hour room service. Meeting and conference halls cater for up to 500 people, with a simultaneous translation service available. There is also a gym, solarium and sauna. The restaurant, sumptuously decorated in the Belle Epoque style with lashings of marble and gilt, serves a spectacular Sunday brunch, as well as Spanish and international cuisine. The terrace and gardens are the perfect setting for meeting friends and business colleagues.

Plaza de la Lealtad 5
Tel: (91) 701 6767. Fax: (91) 701 6776.
E-mail: reservas@ritz.es or commercial@ritz.es
Website: www.ritz.es
Price: From ¬545.

Palace Hotel
Since first opening its doors in 1913, the Palace has been vying with the Ritz in its claims to be Madrid’s premier hotel. Built on a grand scale, with 455 rooms, the hotel has been restored to a level of opulence almost in excess of the original. As well as 18 conference and banqueting rooms, a business centre and interpreting service, there are individual guest room-offices equipped with desk, fax/printer and hands-free telephones. The fitness suite is open 24 hours. Although unashamedly glitzy, the Palace is less stuffy than the Ritz and its restaurants and bars are less pricey than one would expect.

Plaza de las Cortes 7
Tel: (91) 360 8000. Fax: (91) 360 8100.
E-mail: reservations.palacemadrid@westin.com
Website: www.palacemadrid.com
Price: From ¬390.

Moderate

Ingles
This hotel, founded in 1853, enjoys an excellent location in the old part of Madrid, less than 100m (328ft) from Puerta del Sol and equally convenient for cultural attractions, such as the Prado and the bars and restaurants around Calle Huertas. While the modern decor is a little uninspired, all 58 rooms are kept in pristine condition and the 24-hour service is attentive. Rooms overlooking the street may be noisy late at night; those at the back are quieter. All rooms are en suite. Other facilities include a gym, a café and a garage, which is invaluable, considering that parking spaces are at a premium in central Madrid.

Calle Echegaray 8
Tel: (91) 429 6551. Fax: (91) 420 2423.
Price: From ¬75.

Paris
One of the classic hotels in the Puerta de Alcala area, its 120 rooms are spacious and are decorated in classic style. It was one of the first luxury hotels in Madrid at the start of the 20th century. It was only when the Ritz was established in 1910 that it was relegated to a more modest category. Its main attraction is its location, right on the Puerta del Sol, with the main cultural and gastronomic attractions right on its doorstep.

Calle Alcala 2
Tel: (91) 521 6496. Fax: (91) 531 0188.
Price: From ¬64.

Trafalgar
Less than 10 minutes from the centre of town by metro (Iglesia or Bilbao), the Trafalgar is a modern hotel that was completely refurbished a couple of years ago. It lies in a residential neighbourhood, well provided with shops, restaurants and other amenities. The 48 en-suite rooms, while unexceptional, are air conditioned and have direct-dial telephones and TV. There is also a laundry service and currency exchange. The English-speaking staff is friendly and helpful but the real plus (surprising given the price) is the indoor swimming pool.

Calle Trafalgar 35
Tel: (91) 445 6200. Fax: (91) 446 6456.
Price: From ¬79.

Other Recommendations

Hotel Aristos
The location is the main attraction of this small, modern hotel at the expensive end of the three-star range. Tucked away in a pleasant residential district in the north of the city, the Aristos is approximately a 15-minutes drive from the centre. It is equally convenient for Barajas Airport and the Juan Carlos I Trade Fair Centre, while the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones, on Paseo de la Castellana, is even closer. Although a tad soulless, all the 23 rooms have air conditioning, satellite TV, a mini-bar, a bath with a hydromassage shower and laundry service. The restaurant (with terrace) serves Mediterranean dishes.

Avenida de Pío XII 34
Tel: (91) 345 0450. Fax: (91) 345 1023.
E-mail: hotelaristos@elchaflan.com
Price: From ¬163.

Hotel Monaco
Situated in the heart of the lively Chueca barrio (neighbourhood), once home to Madrid’s blacksmiths, the Monaco was originally a brothel much in vogue with the Spanish nobility, including King Alfonso XIII. Renovated as a hotel in the 1950s, the Art Deco interiors now appear the height of kitsch. Most of the 30 rooms have retained at least some of the original decor – a moulding here, a marble pillar there. The pièce de resistance, however, is Room 20, with wall mirrors and a raised central bathtub. The leather booths in the breakfast room are also original – was this where the courtesans entertained their clients, one wonders? Facilities include a ticket agency, fax service, laundry and bar, while rooms have safes, telephones and TVs. The staff is English-speaking.

Calle Barbieri 5
Tel: (91) 522 4630. Fax: (91) 521 1601.
Price: From ¬70.